Official ReleasePROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Junior Savannah Heebner was named the American Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year, as five members of the University of Houston Softball team garnered postseason honors, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.

Voted on by the league's head coaches based off conference-only statistics, Heebner and sophomore third baseman Sarah Queen were named to The American First Team. Sophomore second baseman Arielle James and junior right fielder Maya Thomas were named to the Second Team, and freshman designated player Aspen Howie was named to the All-Rookie Team.

With Heebner's pitching laurel, the Cougars collect their third overall major award as a member of The American, with all coming under second-year Head Coach Kristin Vesely. In 2017, senior utility player Shelby Miller was named the Co-Player of the Year and James was named the Rookie of the Year.

All five Cougars played major roles in helping Houston to a second-place finish, tying last season's placing as the program's highest regular-season finish since joining The American.

Savannah Heebner
Co-Pitcher of the Year/The American First Team (P) Houston's first Pitcher of the Year honoree in The American
 Houston's first Pitcher of the Year since Angel Shamblin (Conference USA, 2008)
 Houston's second first-team pitcher as a member of The American
 Posted a 10-5 record with a 1.39 ERA in 14 starts with 12 complete games and seven shutouts against league opposition
 Tied for most wins in The American (10)
 Recorded 62 strikeouts to 12 walks over 90.1 innings pitched
 Posted .372/.581/.449 slash against league opposition
 Hit .372, going 16-for-43 with three triples, one home run, six RBI, 11 runs and six walks
 Led The American in triples (3)
 Five multi-hit games
 Two multi-RBI games
 Named The American Pitcher of the Week on April 16
 Tabbed to The American Weekly Honor Roll four times (March 26, April 2, April 30, May 7)
 Third postseason honor from The American, all first-team laurels
 First-team utility/pitcher in 2017
 Unanimous first-team pitcher in 2016

Sarah Queen
The American First Team (At-Large) Houston's first first-team, at-large selection in The American
 Posted .421/.754/.539 slash against league opposition
 Hit .421, going 24-for-57 with four doubles, five home runs, 20 RBI, 18 runs, 15 walks and one stolen base
 Led The American in RBI (29)
 Tied for The American lead in runs (18)
 Tied for third in The American in home runs (5)
 Fourth in The American in hits (24)
 Six multi-hit games
 Seven multi-RBI games
 Named The American Hitter of the Week on April 30
 Tabbed to The American Weekly Honor Roll three times (Feb. 19, March 26, April 23)
 First postseason honor from The American

Arielle JamesThe American Second Team (INF) Houston's fifth infield selection in The American
 Posted .339/.419/.500 slash against league opposition
 Hit .339, going 21-for-62 with two doubles, one home run, nine RBI, 18 runs, 13 walks and one stolen base
 Tied for The American lead in runs (18)
 Tied for sixth in The American in hits (21) and on-base percentage (.500)
 Seven multi-hit games
 One multi-RBI game
 Named The American Hitter of the Week on April 9
 Tabbed to The American Weekly Honor Roll three times (Feb. 26, March 5, April 2)
 Second postseason honor from The American
 The American Rookie of the Year in 2017
 First-team utility/pitcher in 2017

Maya ThomasThe American Second Team (OF) Houston's sixth outfield selection in The American
 Posted .322/.322/.344 slash against league opposition
 Hit .322, going 19-for-59 with six RBI, six runs and one walk
 Four multi-hit games
 One multi-RBI game
 Third postseason honor from The American
 First-team outfielder in 2017
 Second-team outfielder and All-Rookie selection in 2016

Aspen HowieThe American All-Rookie Team Houston's sixth All-Rookie selection in The American
 Posted .267/.400/.340 slash against league opposition
 Hit .267, going 12-for-45 with one double, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI, seven runs, five walks and three stolen bases
 Two multi-hit games
 Two multi-RBI games
 First postseason honor from The American

ON DECKHouston opens postseason play with The American Championship across May 10-12 at USF Softball Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Cougars, who enter as the No. 2 seed, will play No. 7 seed ECU on Thursday. First pitch is slated for 11:30 a.m. on The American Digital Network. For the Championship Central page, Click Here.

COUGAR SOFTBALL STADIUM UPGRADES
Thanks to a record year for the Diamond Club, Houston Softball announced the addition of an LED, Daktronics video board (completed) and indoor practice facility as major upgrades to Cougar Softball Stadium.

According to Daktronics, the new outfield video board is the sixth largest at an on-campus softball stadium in the country and the second largest in the state of Texas. The board, which sits just beyond the left-field wall, stands 29-feet-3.1-inches tall and measure 24-feet-4.0-inches wide with 576 square feet of space (24-feet by 24-feet) for live video, instant replays, statistics and scoring information, graphics and animations, and sponsor messages. The display features a 13HD pixel layout for crisp, clear imagery for a great view from every seat at the stadium.

The indoor facility, which will replace the current batting cage down the right-field line, will measure 70-feet by 80-feet. The 5,600-square-foot space will feature five batting cages, measuring 60-feet long by 15-feet wide each, with retractable nets for the space to be used in a variety of ways. The facility will have a synthetic turf floor and will be temperature controlled.

In total, the two capital projects represent $1.2 million in upgrades.

SHASTA PASS
The Houston Athletics Ticket Office is once again proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2017-18 season. For just $80, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all Houston Volleyball, Soccer, Women's Basketball and Softball home games.

The Shasta Pass offers Houston fans a substantial saving as single-game tickets start at $5 for all four sports. To purchase a Shasta Pass, call 713-GO-COOGS or CLICK HERE.

JOIN DIAMOND CLUB
Fans can help support the Houston Softball program by joining the Diamond Club. To find out more information about the Diamond Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH. For more information, CLICK HERE.